23 Concealment
by redcloudedleopard
Summary: Lyja the Skrull makes a silent comeback. Johnny experiences the height of the tension in his relationship with Azula. Her wound resulting from his evil rampage under Diablo's control isn't healing well. Will they make it or break it? Johnny tells it all.
1. Waiting For Her To Say Something Already

Seeing Azula hurt spiked up an energy in me. First was that stupid dream about her in a car crash. I can't believe I've witnessed her lying on the floor, on her way to death's door before (when we time travelled on a mission last time), where I saw the blood in her hand before I held it. This was real; it really happened! Luckily, we were there to fix that alternate timeline before it was too late. & when we came back to the present timeline - _the very normal timeline_ - I didn't think I'd see Zed the same way again.

Anyway, while she & Dr. O talked with the doc at the E.R. I sat outside to wait. A few chaps walked by & threw a nasty look at me. I pretended not to know, & not to care. It took forever, but I told myself I'd shut up & keep trying to get her to at least say a word to me.

She just wouldn't. I couldn't reach her cold hand without her flinching. & her eyes were locked on the floor when it happened.

Later that night, Dr. O said she'd come down with a high fever. He must've noticed my worriedly tight face, so he let me visit their place. I filled him in on the story about the potion & power that drove me _way_ evil.

"It wasn't your fault. I'm fine with all this, though no one except _you_ can go near my daughter without sweating or getting baked!" he joked. True, true…a high fever for Zed was extra high. I imagined I'd be melting things too (without being evil) if I ran a temperature.

"Is she gonna be alright?" I said too fast.

He lost the joking tone, "I'm afraid she's swimming against drugs, nightmares & waking dreams."

"Whatdya mean? That's obviously a bad thing! Right?" I was emotionally supercharged & pacing round the living room.

"You may go see her."

Funny…I didn't remember her room's awesome look. A blazing blue was its main colour but with purple & black. It was nice how each tone blended into another. Her cool paintings lined the walls. A recipe book & sketchpad sat on her desk, I think. I'd trudged into this place once but had left too soon. In a deep sleep she was. By her bed were bright candles sitting together on some kind of wooden stand.

Paper shreds were scattered all over - all saying the same thing. Something like, **"…****No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom…" **It was religious stuff, I guess; probably what Zed was trying to use to feel better.

Dr. O said, "It's her past, Johnny. Her childhood. It's creeping up on her in her mind. I'm used to it because it isn't the first time."

"Care to explain?"

"If you remember, she's done a lot of shameful things with her powers before. Perhaps she didn't share everything with you but…the guilt gathered over the years is enough to place a heavyweight on your emotions for a long time."

I watched her face for movement; my #1 hope, of course, rested on seeing a smile curl up on her face. Or maybe seeing her golden eyes snap open.

"You know what, Doc…," I started, "Tell it to me straight. What does she think of me?"

"I can think of the best thing she's ever said of you…hmmmm…" He stared into space for a while. "One of them is that you're a handsome slash of a guy. Her exact words, my boy."

"That's cool. What else?"

"You're the only other person she knows who can do what she does. In China, we call it firebending."

"I just don't know if we're right for each other. I really don't."

He was laughing! Not psychotically, though, "Why do you think Ben & I call you two 'lovebirds'?"

But I stayed serious, "How about if I asked what _you_ think of me?"

"Jonathan, my daughter & you fit together like the pieces of yin & yang. You've got a great big heart in there." His hand was on my shoulder, "Use it to take care of her."

After he left, I still wanted to stand watch. So I neared the bed. I was sure I felt the wave of the heat - it actually amazed me. Her body temp must've been through the roof. I thought how Reed's unstable molecules might take it. She wasn't lying 100% flat & that allowed me to slip my gentle hand under her head. My body got closer to her, not complaining about the heat around the bed. I'd had it worse before when old man Diablo's potion spilt on me.

I was close enough, sitting now on the edge of the bed, to let my arm go under her head too. I made sure I wasn't touching her body's right side. Gazing downward, I saw all of what I'd done - kinda like me having x-ray vision. I saw fully bandaged skin, but also saw hideous burn marks & blisters & horrible 'visions'. If I was _this_ guilty for hurting her like this, her guilt might've been a hundred times worse. My arm rocked her really slowly, back & forth, back & forth. Her fingers started to curl around it! Soon she pressed her face into it too.

Then I was dumbfounded. I have no idea if she was doing it in her sleep, or if she truly was awake all that time. Hot tears burst outta her eyes. Not just that but _panicked_ tears, if you could call it that. They appeared like bright spots on the sides of her face. It confused me so much more to see her break free from me suddenly; it was like she retreated to the other far side of the bed. Away from me. I felt the air & it was full of her anger. In her mind, I knew she was screaming. The sniffles were just the outer shell. I left her with a forehead kiss before dragging myself out.

The next few days didn't do any good. I would visit her again & again, but she'd always be asleep. Quiet. Not talking to me. Or...she was always PRETENDING to be asleep. Even Dr. O couldn't explain that. He was at a loss for words. HELP ME...

One morning I felt really terrible, close to breaking point where I go 'Snap!' like a rubber band. There was a little incident that should've made me laugh but didn't. On my way to _'The Spot'_ - my best hideout for alone time - I found a wilted plant by the sidewalk. I told it I felt the same, before I took off to hit the skies when no one was peeking.

By the time I reached the place, I settled down. Took in the oxygen. If anyone asked, I'd lie that I was testing out a repaired car. It wasn't the first time. Who'd find me on the rooftop of a long-abandoned building with no stairs, no ladders, plus no doors? If too many people stood on this structure, it might just tumble down into a mess. I let the sunlight hit me, & I found it sweet. I enjoyed how Zed pieced words together.

'Emo' enough, it was my girlfriend's eyes flashing in my head. Had she flinched away from me because her past was spooking her like crazy? Still confused, I wanted to connect the dots. I'd hurt her by accident, right? I'd be the last person on earth to cause her pain, right? For crying out loud I was dating her! Nope, she wouldn't hate me for being possessed by demonic '_living fire' But…_

_But, _I was some constant reminder of her childhood. The dark side of it. It must've been so harsh nobody could picture it. She wouldn't let me near her anymore, even after the burns on her arm faded to just scars. She was getting burns, which were probably worse, in her thoughts. Perhaps the 'guilt heavyweight' Dr. O talked about was too heavy for even me to lift up. What if, like in so many silly movies about love out there, I chose to let go? Just to move on, & not make the stress bring her down anymore?

Maybe it wasn't so hard to do that. I'd done it with Frankie before, except I dated her for a far shorter time. Cutting things off with Azula'd be tougher but I'd be doing a good thing. Wouldn't I? Pffft, my brain wanted to tell me it was aching.

This was actually one of my spots to be on villain watch. But it proved too to be the perfect 'thinking spot'. My place of _zen_. I didn't count how much time flew by…

"She's not talking to you, is she?"

That was no familiar voice.

A girl about my age appeared when I whirled around. Purple & white hair (dyed, duhhhhh), lotsa purple bracelets around her, earrings, plenty of makeup (purple eyeshadow included)…But a nice face, I noticed. But my gloominess stopped me, "Just go, please. I need time alone."

"I know what you're going through. Trust me."

Hmmmph. You're right, _purple freak_. Purple freak who discovered my hiding place. Was she part monkey so she was able to climb up?

"I'm Michelle, by the way. Would a little dinner date help lift some pressure of your shoulders?"


	2. A Terrible Wonderful Discovery

Alienation: the perfect word to describe what was happening. It was the biggest hole I ever had in me in a long time. I had to fill it with something, & _fast_.

The Michelle chick told me to meet her at a place called "Flickerin' Flame" that night if I changed my mind. I totally didn't want to. Yet the small voice living in my head poked me so many times about filling that hole. I ached to silence it, so I tried my luck again with Zed…

"Just go."

"But why? It was an accident, I swear!"

"You're making it worse. You need to get out or I'll show you a real 'Flame on!'."

"Zed…come on…You know I wouldn't hurt you on purpose. I can do something to help. Anything, just name it."

"Then don't stand around reminding me of that mess I got myself into." She half destroyed me with her _lasery_ eyes then pointed to her injury. She had unwrapped her bandages, "These marks are gonna fade enough soon, & as long as you ain't less than ten feet from me, I'll be living a life as normal as I can make it."

She turned around just so her back could replace the eyes looking at me, "I don't need you. Stop coming after me."

It was like a beautiful echo - as I said something she'd said to me when I was still under the potion's spell, "I know how much you're _hurting_."

"Don't interrupt, Hotshot!" She corrected the name she used, which actually hurt, "Johnny." She was spitting the rest out, "I still haven't heard my 'sorry'. I'm not a messenger, & I didn't have to go this far."

I sounded so broken, "I've never dared to say 'sorry' a million times except when it was in front of you."

But she looked so unaffected, & _mad_, "I can see you need time to take this in. If I feel alright at all, I'll come see you tomorrow." That was the second she shoved me out of the room, "Good evening." I pulled some invisible knife outta my chest; I couldn't be sympathetic when I heard her crying behind the door.

The hole was emptier than before. I reached for the car keys in my pocket to drive to the "Flickerin' Flame".

* * *

Mich was someone they called a 'fire dancer' at the restaurant. She surprised me with an awesome show she put on, tossing & juggling flaming objects. Most of her moves could be used in fighting, I thought. The stage lights caught her; boy was she hotty hot hot. In a red & black costume - dark tights & leggings, & a top with practically no straps. I sat at a little lonely table coz I didn't want people looking, but couldn't help myself cheering. Watching her almost filled the missing space inside…

"How was I?" she appeared at my table after the action, scaring me. Her smile had the opposite effect, though.

"Oh!" I snapped back into the real world. I had been emo-ing. "Uhhh…great! That's right - you were…smokin' hot! No doubt about that!"

"If you tried to fireball me, I'd be ready with a couple of these sticks." A waiter walked by & she spontaneously snatched a dish from his tray, "Here. Eat up. It's the chef's recommendation: turkey goulash."

"I was just gonna say -"

"Hey, Fred! Put it on my tab!" she yelled at the same waiter. Next thing I know she's an inch from me, on another seat. She's getting cozy with the space that's left at the table.

"I was saying, you don't need to do this. I'm seeing someone & you know that."

"She won't know about it. I promise. Besides, I'm not a person who'd _use_ somebody just to forget how guilty she is of her past…"

My jaw fell out, "How do you -?"

"I've heard things, Johnny. Though I promise I'd never tell anyone."

"Look, Mich. What are you saying?" I wanted to scare her back with the narrow-eyed look.

"I know the real you, what you're like inside. That's what matters."

"But what if I burned you alive & left you…damaged…?" I nearly sank back into an emo dimension.

"Simple. It wasn't your fault, so I wouldn't hold anything against you. Don't you see? She's been using you only to create her own illusion: that she isn't a monster herself. "

"You're only half right. She may've wrecked her life a long time ago, but…"

"But?"

I was gonna say 'she's changed', but it SO didn't come out right, "I'm confused. Whenever I try to see her, the timing always ain't right."

"She's avoiding you. Don't you get it? I wouldn't think for one moment that she cares. _That's_ what makes a monster."

"You don't know that. I'm just…dying to know what she's thinking."

"If you think she cares so much, why isn't she even _trying_ to talk to you? It's obvious that she's had it." "Maybe she's telling you you're too dangerous for her to ever be around again. Not only because of what you did, but because of what _she_ did."

"What about what I've done? The whole city saw me on TV," my voice cracked at the end. Plus, the other diners stared me down like I was their next course.

"It's nothing to me."

"I gotta go." Oops, too emo to stand her.

"No. Stay." Her arm was freaky strong, placing me back in the chair. "If I she _is_ your girlfriend, I suggest you leave her so you won't hurt her any longer. Besides…"

_HER LIPS WERE TOUCHING MINE!_ "I complete the puzzle better than she does," her whisper came. It was cooling…cooling to the anger I never knew I was feeling toward Azula. My eyes flashed to my new girlfriend's own pretty purplish ones. They were glowing, & I loved that. A moment ago there was some mysterious nasty rock in my heart, & in my throat. But** when I was weak, then I was strong. **The boulder was melting away now.

Mich truly cared about me.


	3. The Worst Since Mom and Dad Left

"_I complete the puzzle better than she does."_

I couldn't agree more. Yet, what happened after that amazing dreamlike moment at the restaurant is still hard to piece together. I felt so free of a pressure - an uneasy emotion - that was stuck in me & choking me quietly before.

After that first night, I remember little things. My new girlfriend agreed to visit the next day. The night passed, & the following morning flew by quickly. No memories of that. Zed found me with Mich in the living area later on, where I'd been giving Mich the tour. Hot fiery words were flying across the room, & all I have is a memory of Azula leaving us finally. I had defeated her in the argument & was savouring the victory. She sobbed as she left, & as I looked to my girlfriend who smiled. I think I did the same, then we did a lip kiss.

Mich told me she'd _"always take care of it."_ She didn't complain about a thing - compared to Zed. She'd tell me great things about myself. Stuff I could believe so much that I wanted to kiss her again. The rest that I can remember from then on were a burning motorbike, many children & people running away, & Sue telling me off for something she said about the news on national TV. Reed brought up something about suspecting an attack on Diablo, but I heard the old man hadn't broken outta the Vault once since we nabbed him. I didn't spare a moment to care for this stuff; Mich was all the oxygen I needed.

"Tonight, Johnny, is just gonna be fun & games for us," she wrapped herself around my arm on the way to dinner on the third evening. She said it'd be a surprise.

"Whatever you say," I said. There's a memory of us walking down a quiet street.

The same street had a nightclub with inviting lights. We stopped at the end of a _looooong_ line leading up to the doors. "Great…just what we need. The hundred mile walk," Mich growled.

"Not for Torch & his girlfriend," I smiled, enjoying the luxury of using my superhero title to cut the queue. I wanted to laugh at the voices of ticked off people.

"Watch it!"

"Hey!"

"We've been waiting here an hour, man! Back in line, Torch!"

One guy blocked the way after he saw me, "You have any idea what you did to muh bike? Even the news is startin' to give you a bad name."

"Shut it. He had every right to do that," Mich backed me up.

"You watch yourself, chic. Or you may just deserve second place." The guy was pounding his hand with his beer bottle, like he was about to whack me or something. He was pretty much brawn & I thought he had no brains. He added, "Didya hear they may snatch back the licenses belongin' to 'Top Six' if you keep this up?"

I refused to care.

The nightclub's bouncer gave the green light, "Mr. Storm? Nice to…see you. Uhhhh…go right in."

Someone in the queue expressed himself, "Yo pal, I stand here for sixty & I get _this_?"

"Yeah. You callin' this justice when you 'n your buddies go out saving people?" a second punky guy butted in my way. He glared at me.

I snapped, "Don't know. Don't care. Now, Michelle & I wanna dance." I turned to the bouncer, who looked nervous & said, "Gentlemen, Mr. Storm has always had access to -"

"Hey! Aren't you supposed to be dating Blue Dragon?" a lady a little behind in the line shouted.

"Yeah, where's Azula?" said another chic.

"What happened between you two? You were the perfect couple!"

The action was just starting. "I think she's better off without you!" the first punk roared out. I was kicked suddenly in the back, & I flew to the concrete. Some other man picked me up wildly, "She should start off by replacing you, Torch!"

"PUT…ME…DOWN!" I fought tooth & nail. There were kung fu moves I pulled off: Zed's famous mid-air spin, & a couple of punches to two more men who were charging for me. None of it was working.

"YOU JUST LOST ALL THE RESPECT YOU DESERVE!" the second punk was bursting his own lungs, yelling behind me. _A loud smash!_ Clear green pieces of glass scattered around. Many many times I was thrashed about, like a punch bag. Unseen but painful blows coming from random directions, each one catching me by surprise. I couldn't do anything to bring myself up again. I was losing touch with reality itself. Felt something horribly ice cold in the back of my skull.

All of a sudden, the next second, cold turned to killer heat in the same spot - & this cycle of hot & cold was confusing me. In fact, it made it much more painful coz the feeling spread to the rest of me. My eyes searched frantically for Mich, but there she was, running from where she should be standing. _What was that all about? _My heart pounded & hammered & called out to her.

At last I surrendered. The side of my head hit the cool stone with a dull thud. I heard murmurs of the people who were watching; soon I couldn't see a thing. The strongest pain was in my chest.

Someone announced. "It's _her_!" It sounded like they made way for somebody who was approaching. I heard a roar. & sirens. Then nothing.

It happened so fast; too fast. Under the confusion, I knew somehow about a sure truth. The angry faces could truly remind me that I was deep in trouble.

What did I find out much much later? The 'her' had been Zed. The roar: Leopard X. The sirens: cops who'd been hiding & watching from the dark nearby alleys. If I had harmed anyone, they'd come out of hiding for me. I heard that the media had even stopped by the terrible scene to try take a peek for their latest story, but Leopard X protected my bashed up body from the cameras.

The real problem: I wrecked so much stuff in New York that the city had loads of money to pay up. They'd had enough of me…I imagined how battered I now looked. **I had nothing to attract anyone to me; even scarier, nothing in my appearance that anyone would want me. I would come to my own **_**family**_(meaning the FF) **& they wouldn't accept me.** Officially…


	4. What It's Like In The Hospital

I know I can cover myself in flames but this 'flame' is different - you'd call it 'pain' but it feels hotter than just that. It's scorching my entire body & coming from the back of my head. Like a terrible boiling waterfall. I remember the surprised faces. The low voices talking about me. Worst of all, HER face. Was she smiling as she ran off?

She, my latest 'girlfriend', ditched me...in the worst way EVER! Somebody whacked me with something stone cold, making me tumble. Next I feel I'm being attacked...in many spots...attacks from every direction. I was getting blurry so I don't remember the details. & what does Mich do? I may've been the only one who saw but she eyed me like I was some worthless piece of junk. Then, she ran for it. With reddish glowing alien eyes as she vanished. Leaving me to...die...or bleed...to death on the sidewalk. I so can't believe what I'm tangled in. Curiosity nearly killed the Torch.

I'm now facing the ceiling of some place...& moving smooth & fast. I'm lying on a moving mattress, too. Voices of a few people are ringing around me. They're muttering stuff I can't fully make out. I feel one of them removing a kind of wet cloth my head's been resting on. I can see that it's black in colour - it looks like Zed's other jacket she sometimes wore. One of the person's hands has reddish stains after he touches the cloth. If I ain't wrong, _my blood's_ all over that black fabric! I heard sentences in just pieces:

"...bringing down a superhero...just like that?..."

"...on the news..."

A strange electric current's striking my chest.

"...broken a rib or two..."

"Grab a bandage...his wrist..."

A moment later, something curls around my left hand so tight I want to shout out. Second, they strap a mask on me to breathe.

I want to fight this. What would Zed be feeling inside right now? I don't think it matters; I just know this change is for the worst. Zed wouldn't look at me the same way again since the last argument. She already lost the smile that makes me melt myself. Her eyes will look the opposite whenever she sees me from now on - the opposite of warm & wonderful. I can still replay how her face changed when she saw me in the room with Michelle.

* * *

Why? Why had I done that? It changed everything. Me accepting an invite from a random stranger (who, I admit, was hotty hot hot!) that I'd just met. She gets me bashed up outside a nightclub, & gets me cooped up in a room on a bed I seemed to be glued to for ages. If I could get my flaming hands on Michelle now...

Some morning sunshine gets in my face when I turn to look out the window. My head's against an almost flat pillow & a thin blanket's nearly covering my whole body. It's feeling chilly in this large room. One or two times a nurse drops in to do a check up, but I'm too weak to chat. They say I've been out for FOUR DAYS? Nine stitches in the back of my head? Pain meds pumped into me…more bandages around my head (almost covering my eyes)...

I'm spending what seems like forever in here. I'm drifting between being asleep & being awake. Who knows..perhaps a person or two will drop in during visiting hours today (whatever time the visiting hours are). I can't help but clench my teeth. Moving any part of myself is the hardest thing to do. When I looked at my left wrist earlier, it was heavily bandaged. Each time I tried moving it, the nasty 'flame' came back to haunt me. The 'flame' burns more if I try tossing & turning in this bed. Must be the broken rib the doc talked about last night. Oh, crud.

Hospital rooms are dead scary. Their silence creeps up on you. & in my personal case, NO ONE HAS VISITED ME TODAY. Not even a call from Sis. Or from Zed. That was the_ other_ kinda silence I hated. Oh, someone, get me outta here already!

& I'm being emo yet again. Mom, could you just get outta my head? Please? Stop..._loving _me so much in my memories! If you were still around, I wouldn't mind, but you're NOT! Leave me alone. I'm shutting my eyes. I don't know what's happening. Zed would help me get through this. But she wouldn't come. She'd be nothing but mad; I just know it. _She already was,_ after I torched her arm.

* * *

They fed me something so yucky & bitter in my sleep. By coincidence, I was just waking up. I spat out the soup in emergency mode, coughed really hard, then opened my eyes. My oxygen mask was gone.

"Sorry…about that," a voice like honey said. Whoa…drizzling golden honey on pancakes. At least, that's what my stomach wanted at that time. But the hunger wore off - as soon as I looked to someone I was dying to meet again. Azula's eyes were golden enough.

"That's duck soup. _Herbal_ duck soup," she told me with a spoon in her hand. Oh. Then my tongue must've been wrong about the stuff.

"_Hey…,"_ I got real dreamy. I'd forgotten how pretty she looked & my smile must've looked so stupid. Besides, I was weak & dizzy.

"Hi," she half laughed. It was so cute. "Honestly..I don't know where to start." I was happy she wore the jacket I'd given her.

"Man, you're beautiful," I felt her face with my good hand. It was like a flower petal…or velvet. Either one. Her eyes burned into mine & the sensation was so heavenly. It made me assume she didn't think I was all too ugly to look at!

She felt my hand too. "Maybe on the outside. But not when I got you into so much trouble. People like me…make bad things happen to good people." Her voice ringing with sadness got my attention.

"Bad people," I made a correction, sounding like a frog. At least I trusted her as the only person to tell this to. I sat up slowly, taking the pain of my rib area. It was really hard. She helped me up.

"What?"

"It's me. It's been _me_ all this time."

"Don't pretend to act lovey dovey." A miracle happened right there. She let one hand go on fire, then she touched mine. "Flame on yours too." I did what she said. So our hands joined together - & made an amazing purple flame burn brightly. Why hadn't we done anything this awesome before?

Excited, SHE PULLED ME INTO THE WARMEST EVER HUG! Head on my chest, as she liked to do normally, to hear my heart hammering. "I'm sorry, sorry, I'm just so sorry," she murmured. I didn't hold a thing against her though I was still left confused. Then I asked how her arm was because I noticed the bandages were still there. She simply said not to worry. According to the doc, I was in a coma for four days & had to have surgery to mend the back of my head, where the bottle crashed down. Azula explained my broken ribs were just 'greenstick fractures'; that made me lucky. The good news: the ribs would heal on their own. The bad news was it would hurt & there was really very little I could do. Since I was comatose, she told me my memory might've been wrecked a little.

I found it funny: she told me I was always conked out when anyone was in visiting me. It was as if my heart jerked outta place when I finally knew the number of people who were by my side throughout the coma. There was sis, Reed, Ben & Dr. O of course, & even Ursa, Azula's mom who dropped by & left a cool Chinese 'Get Well' card. Mrs. Monet (of all people!) came in too with Azula on the second day. Way too bad I wasn't able to see 'em. What was Ursa like, & how much was she like Mom herself? If she were still in New York by the time I was totally recovered, I'd love to see her.

My _real_ girlfriend finished by telling me I'll be out of this place by the end of the week. "Forget about what the media's saying. We're handling it," she said. She promised too to spend as many nights here with me as possible, & granted me the lip kiss I'd missed deeply. I wouldn't let her leave just yet. Already she was heading for the door!

"Hold on! Wait up -" I put both feet onto the icy floor. The cracked ribs were bothering me…but I let myself get off the bed. Like some automatic machine I lurged forward till I couldn't stand the pain anymore. I was going to fall -

"Whoa!" she stopped me. I practically fell on her but her legs kept us up. Her body was wonderfully warm & mine definitely wasn't. My aching ribs & numb head _dizzified_ me more; she led me back to the bed. "Save it for tonight, Hotshot," she let me kiss her. I found the bravery to say it,

"Love you."

"I love you more," she wrapped me in a cuddle. This time I let her leave. Her bad arm suddenly held my broken left wrist before she strolled out. The pain didn't matter. I was thinking how we each had one arm hurting & the other unharmed, so I'd have to hold her left hand with my right one the next time.

Slumped back in bed, I sensed the air was normal again. It wasn't dreamlike any longer. Just me in the room, but only till tonight. A folded paper was lying on my bedside table. Though I faced more pain, I reached to grab it. I almost laughed for forgetting the nickname I gave her:

_The wolfberries in the soup will help; they'll help your body fight. They're miracle workers for people in my hometown. I'm sure it'll be the same for you. Please get well! I'm sorry a thousand times over for causing all this._

_Love, _

_Zed_

_PS: People who love your hair only love how it's spiked up._

_I love the way it falls over the back of your neck._

I thought I was crazy whispering all those 'thank yous' for a girlfriend of endless surprises. Something about her was so valuable to me that it overflowed. **Over all the awesome things about her she put on love, which glued them all together perfectly**_**.**_


End file.
